Trade up. One of the options is to trade with charlotte, package one of our players(Bargnani most likely) and the pick. I see Charlotte doing that because they wont get The Unibrow and he's the only franchise superstar in the draft and they would get another solid player w/ our 8th pick and the raps can pick a high quality player (MKG, Drummond etc.) and become instantly better defensively...

Given all the holes on this team, it makes no sense from an asset management point of view to move the 8th, plus other assets for one draft pick who may or may not be an all-star. If they move the 8th, it needs to be for multiple assets (2 players or a pick and a player) or as part of a bigger package for an elite, top of the food chain player that they can build around. Anything else, IMO, is just treading water.

Wolstat puts up some incredibly DURRRRR stuff sometimes but he made some interesting points about trading Demar or Bargs over the pick, which i agree with. I can't get on twitter from my work comp so i can't repost it, but yeah. It's interesting.

Plenty of potential all-star talent left at #2 (Beal, MKG, Barnes). Things get a little hazier around 8. I don't know if that package would entice them enough

Part of it depends on who Charlotte wants and also what other offers they get. My gut feeling is that other teams (ie: Cleveland) would be able to offer more, simply for the fact that their offers start with a higher pick than #8 (less of a drop for Charlotte).

From Toronto's perspective, I'm not sure I'd be willing to give up much more than that (Davis & #56) to move up 7 spots. First, there's an outside shot that one of Beal/MKG/Barnes could drop to #8. Second, although a SG like Beal might be better than a SG like Lamb, I don't think the dropoff in talent is enough to justify giving up any more.

Who knows what to believe this time of year but I do consider Alex Kennedy at HoopsWorld.com to be their best when it comes to information from sources:

Teams Looking to Trade First-Round Picks: Over the next few weeks, don’t be surprised if a large number of teams outside of the lottery try to trade their first-round pick.

Multiple sources have told HOOPSWORLD that a lot of teams are trying to get rid their pick, which could make for an interesting draft night.

“Almost everyone wants to get out of their pick in this draft,” said one Western Conference executive. “For some teams, it’s hard to take on money for multiple years in this economic climate, especially if the player would not make an impact and help the team win immediately.”

That means contending teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or Chicago Bulls may opt to trade their late first-round pick rather than draft a rookie who won’t really contribute (just like Reggie Jackson and Jimmy Butler this season). Expect plenty of trade rumors over the next several weeks.

Who knows what to believe this time of year but I do consider Alex Kennedy at HoopsWorld.com to be their best when it comes to information from sources:

So if the Raptors look to trade their own pick (#8), they might have opportunities to get a pick 15-30.

Well thats encouraging. The option also then exists to take their pick and a player (we like of course) for a less costly player from us. We could even give them cash and then package 8 and ? to move higher or in another trade.

Brotherston: Raptors looking to trade the pick

Once again, another solid article from Stephen.

Playoff teams often have some young talent, but they rely on experienced players for the leadership and composure to get the job done. After the draft lottery, Colangelo talked about the Raptors’ plans heading toward next season.

“We are obviously looking for a team next year to compete at a higher level,” Colangelo said. “We are looking to increase the level of competition. We are looking to increase the level of experience and thinking that you are going to get all of that at eight in this draft is probably not going to happen.

“Anything we take at eight is not going to have NBA experience so we are going to be looking at that in various other ways. We have the trade opportunities before July 1, trade opportunities and free agent options after July 1, so we have a lot of different balls up in the air with respect to the options that are going to be there for us.”

“In the eighth spot, we feel like we are going to get a very good player. There are a wide range of players that we are looking at. We feel that a player at eight will certainly add to our building process, or the value of the eighth pick will perhaps be something that is packaged with something else to create a trade asset.

“We are obviously very young and we are looking to add as much talent as possible. We put ourselves in a position with the cap flexibility that we have pre-July 1 to acquire a player if that right player is available in a trade scenario. Whether or not the eighth pick is part of that process in terms of packaging enough assets to obtain the right type of player, we will have to consider all options, but when you talk about the eighth pick, anybody you take at eight is going to be somewhat disadvantaged in that they will lack any NBA experience.”

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, first-round draft picks and the four years of cost certainty they provide have become even more highly valued assets. At the trade deadline, Cleveland took on the salaries of Jason Kapono and Luke Walton while giving up a quality backup point guard in Ramon Sessions in order the get the Lakers’ late first-round pick. Cleveland remains on the hook for Walton’s $5.8 million salary next season. Toronto should be able to find plenty of suitors willing to give high quality assets in return for their mid-lottery pick.

“Every team in the league is looking to avoid the luxury tax in the future, not only today but in the future, because it will become more onerous and the implications of being a tax team will increase dramatically on a negative level,” Colangelo said.

“Take two second round picks, 37 and 56 and move them, maybe package two picks to move up, sell one pick or move a pick in a transaction that nets you a future asset like a second-round pick or where you are swapping something for future considerations, we will look at that because it’s probably not the best scenario to add three players. You might also find yourself in a situation where you select a player, not necessarily an international player, could be an international player or a college player that you are looking at playing Europe for a couple of years. Not all second-round picks are signed immediately, sometimes they go to Europe and play.

“Thirty-seven, however, is a pick that we feel might net us a player that could add something to this roster and we are looking at various players who might be available at 37.”

Sign me up for Machado, Barton, Jenkins, or Murphy!

While it remains possible that the Toronto Raptors keep all three of their draft picks, this is the least likely scenario and runs contrary to Colangelo’s goals next season. As things stand today, Colangelo will be using his lottery pick to acquire the young veteran who can help assure the Raptors return to the playoffs next season, keeping one second-round draft choice and either trading or stashing their late second rounder.

Brotherston clearly brought along his "BC-Decoder" to interpret BC's code to be able to write that last paragraph! lol

It sounds about right, though -- the BC mind-reading by Brotherston, I mean.

#8 and assets probably gets you a good starting SF. Might have to overpay a bit (ie. Rudy Gay), but that's the nature of the beast if you want to improve. I personally like the Draymond Green pick in the 2nd round, esp. if the player overpaid for in the first transaction is a PG (Dragic/Lowry sign-and-trade, for instance) -- I think he's underrated and fits what Casey is trying to do in Toronto, defensively and chemistry-wise. Plus he's one of the smartest players in the draft, and makes up for some physical limitations that way. At 37, I think he'd be great.

There are a few interesting players at 8 -- I personally like Lillard, Marshall, and Harkless best -- but none I would think twice about including in a trade for a starter-quality 1 or 3.

Definition of Statistics: The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures.

IF we end up NOT trading the pick, I can see a scenario where we move Derozan to the 3 and draft a SG like Jeremy Lamb. Though this is not my preference it does make sense. Derozan can focus on what he does best, slashing, hitting the mid range jumper, and getting to the line, while we bring in someone who is more of a true SG.

IF we end up NOT trading the pick, I can see a scenario where we move Derozan to the 3 and draft a SG like Jeremy Lamb. Though this is not my preference it does make sense. Derozan can focus on what he does best, slashing, hitting the mid range jumper, and getting to the line, while we bring in someone who is more of a true SG.

Demar can play the 3 on occasion, but he shouldn't be counted on to play major minutes at the SF position. He's undersized, has no handles and no consistent jumper to keep defenses honest. Personally, and this is just me, I'd look into dealing him for either a point guard to take over for Calderon or for a true small forward.